ebookers' losses narrow

NEWS ebookers has taken a slice off its losses as demand for its services continue to grow and cost-cutting tactics start to kick in. Its pre-tax losses for 2001 were £25.6m, down from £37m the previous year. Last year it transferred a large bulk of its back-office operations to India as part of its bid to cut costs. Dinesh Dhamija, CEO of ebookers, said in a statement: "In 2001 we have delivered very high growth and at the same time succeeded in lowering the relative size of our cost base and steadying our cash position. Bookings so far in 2002 have regained a strong upward momentum indicating that the effect of 11 September on our business is now over." Operating profits for the year also look good with the site more than doubling the figure for 2001 to £20.3m. This strong performance is expected to continue into 2002. However, the positive financial news wasn't enough to stop a fall in its share price which fell 5.5 per cent during mid-morning trading.